


Collaborative Drabbling

by MathConcepts, RayByAnotherName



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Clubbing, Gen, Headcanon, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 6,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26130598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MathConcepts/pseuds/MathConcepts, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RayByAnotherName/pseuds/RayByAnotherName
Summary: We be reblogging like crazy on tumblr. Some The Old Guard drabble fics written by mega-ringsandthings-world and raybyanothername on tumblr.Thread links will be in the notes. :)
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko
Comments: 13
Kudos: 21





	1. Fixing Fashion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quynh is a fashion icon, this is fact. scythian-andromache made a post about it and everything. A drabble was quickly born.

There is a whirring on the other side of the door that spurs forward quickly. The door bangs open, moonlight streams in from the open windows to illuminate an army of bodies, headless and draped in red.

It takes him a second or two to realize that the red is fabric and not blood. And the fabric is pinned to the bodies in convoluted shapes that swirl downward in spirals.

“Why are we making headless dummies look like waterfalls of blood?” Booker is immediately looking for Quynh. His head is on a swivel as he tip toes around the creepy displays.

The whirring is coming from the kitchen and that is where he finds Quynh, pushing fabric through a machine on the table.

“I’m education the fashion industry on how to properly drape fabric over a man’s body.” Quynh does not look up. Her face is a smooth mask, not a wrinkle on her skin as the machine stabs through fabric rapidly.

Booker blinks and backs away. His foot catches on something and he’s forced to catch himself on the wall. The whirring stops.

“Do you just break my serger?!” Quynh is in front or him now. She stoops low to pick up one of the four large spools of thread that have tumbled tp the ground. Quynh sighs, cradling the shiny tower of red, “Do you know how long it takes to thread these Booker?”

That, that is when he spots Copley. He’s on a stool in the center of the room, surrounded by the dummies. He’s absolutely still, arms in the air and starting to shake.

~run~ Copley mouths. Moonlight catches on the metal pins that are holding the blazer he’s wearing together. ~run~

Booker flees. Exile be damned, he needs Andy to stop Quynh this time. 

-.-.-

Andy is staring at him, clearly unimpressed, her arms crossed at her chest. “Exactly what did you take, Book?” she says, giving him a one-over. 

“Nothing!” he protests, scandalized at the implication. Nile is fanning him with a museum catalog, and he tries to bat her away. “I’m serious! She’s holding Copley hostage, and she has an army of dummies! You have to stop her before she makes him into a coat!” 

Nile and Andy share a look over his head, and he huffs, irritated that he’s not being taken seriously. 

“Book, I think you should rest. Whatever you took isn’t being metabolized properly.”

“I’m NOT high!” he snaps. 

Andy sticks her nose right near his face, practically in his mouth. She frowns, “Stale coffee, biscotti… no whiskey, Book?” She claps him on the shoulder, “I’m impressed.”

“I *told* you, I’m totally sober,” Booker huffed, struggling against the restraints. Joe snorted from his spot in the corner. Nicky was outright scowling.

Nile raised a hand, brow raised, “So… Quynh is… back?” Her words were like a jolt of lightning through the rest of the room. The three oldest immortals went still, and silent, as the details of Booker’s story sunk in.

“Yeah, and she’s apparently got a bone to pick with the fashion industry!” 

-.-.-

Their arrival at Copley's apartment is announced by Andy slamming open the door. Several mannequins fall to the ground and Quynh immediately appears in the room. She was staring at them, her eyes narrowed. Copley waved sheepishly from behind her, dressed in black silk and what may or not have been a cape. Booker started edging away from his place behind Joe, praying for a handy bottle of wine.

“Andromache.” Quynh began, and everyone tensed, expecting an eruption of anger, of 100 years of pent up horror and rage to come crashing down on their head. Instead, Quynh gestured at Andy, seemingly indicating her all over.

“Andromache, she repeated, “what are you wearing?” Then Quynh’s eyes caught Nicky’s form, off to Andy’s left, and she actually shrieked. “What in the name of the gods are YOU wearing? Take it off, take it off right now! Booker, get me the tape measure!”

Booker groaned. He shuffled towards her sewing table - which had once been his kitchen table - resigned to his fate. At least she's not making *him* change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Link to the thread: https://mega-ringsandthings-world.tumblr.com/post/627131004298149888/raybyanothername-mega-ringsandthings-world


	2. Fate and Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death and Fate arguing about the Immortals.

“Seriously, what did I do to piss you off?” Death glowers at Fate.

Fate shrugs, smirking as she gestures towards the immortals, “I just think they’re neat!”

-.-.-

“One, just give me one, please!” Death begs. 

“Nah, sorry.” Fate says flippantly as she coos over the tiny figures of Joe and Nicky, who are feeding each other cherries down on some beach or the other. 

Death huffs, but pauses. Fate is distracted. With quick, and Subtle!, steps Death moves toward the trio of immortals not currently in Fate’s direct care.

It only takes a moment. 

Fate is careful after that. So very careful. She’s glad that the the four that are left stay together, it was their separation that had cost her the one. 

Death doesn’t appreciate her efforts. She doesn’t care. 

-.-.-

Fate is about to commit their first murder as Quynh is locked in an iron box. Angry eyes turn to Death.

“I would never!” Death holds their hands up, eyes wide. When Quynh sinks, Death crosses their arms, “I won’t take her without your say-so, you have my word.”

It is a small consolation prize, but at least Fate knows there’s still a chance to save Quynh. One day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Link to Thread: https://raybyanothername.tumblr.com/post/627459908015669248/mega-ringsandthings-world-raybyanothername


	3. Ghostly Lykon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If Quynh could see Lykon's ghost and no one else could.

“Are they always like this now?” Lykon asks. He’s vaguely glowing, and smiling that smile Quynh always loved. He’s learned modern languages, but still speaks with an accent, much like her. 

Quynh sips her boba tea, smiles herself. “Unfortunately, yes.” 

“So he -” Lykon points over her shoulder to Copley, who along with Booker is staring at Quynh like she’s grown two heads and a tail, “-is really my descendant?” 

“So many times removed.” Quynh agrees. 

“Are they together? Finally?” Lykon goes on, looking Booker over apraisingly. 

Quynh nods. “It doesn’t say anything good about your bloodline’s taste, but they are a couple.” 

Lykon laughs, jabs her in the shoulder with a ghostly finger. 

“Hey!” Quynh giggles, bats his hand away, and Booker seems to loose what’s left of his tolerance. 

“What the fuck is going on?!” 

-.-.-

It was a bad idea to suggest finding Andy.

Lykon blinks rapidly. He attempts to nudge Quynh’s shoulder, but her focus is far from on him and his hand goes right through.

“Uh, Quynh…” Lykon waves a hand in front of her face. Nothing. Her expression is frozen, eyes wide and lips parted just slightly. It’s not quite a smile.

Lykon recognizes the look and tosses his head to look at Andy across the street. She is similarly frozen, tears sliding down her cheeks as her mouth gaps open. He’s never appreciated her similarities to a fish before…

“You know, you’re lucky sidewalks were invented,” Lykon shakes his head and leans against a nearby car, “You’d both of been run over by a cart by now, back then.”

500 years is a long while, but Lykon isn’t gonna wait another half a millenia for these two to move.

Lykon bangs on the car, hard. The alarm goes off and both women startle into action.

“And now you’re both in the middle of the street…” Lykon shakes his head as they embrace. Andy’s grip is tight and Quynh’s wandering. Lykon scrunches up his nose, “Ew. Where’s a cart when you need it?”

No one, not even dead people, want to watch their parents make out.

“Where the hell did Booker go?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Link to Thread: https://raybyanothername.tumblr.com/post/627459908015669248/mega-ringsandthings-world-raybyanothername
> 
> This thread has like, three drabbles smashed into it.


	4. Designated Drivers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lykon likes to dance and our favorite chaotic siblings obviously have to go clubbing. But who should they call to pick them up when their drunk at the end of the night?

It took Nile all of four seconds to realize that once you got Lykon talking, there was no stopping him. Not if the topic was interesting. Not without actual bloodshed.

She found the last bit out when she banged her head on a wall after laughing too hard at his impression of some dumb diplomat who’d tried to convince Andy to support a warlord.

The best part was, to get him started… she just had to ask a question.

“Why doesn’t waltzing count as dancing?” Nile asks, brow furrowed as she brings a handful of popcorn to her mouth.

“Waltzing!” Lykon spits out the word and Nile grins. “That, that is an insult to dancing. It’s barely a sway. You move like a stick!”

That was not a comparison Nile expected.

“Dancing requires motion!” Lykon spoke with reverence as his hips and chest went in opposite directions for his demonstration. The muscles of his abdomen twisted and turned along with his arms. “A walt!” Lykon straightened up. “Is stepping.” He did a simple box step, spine totally straight.

“It’s still dancing,” Nile shrugged, throwing some popcorn into the air before catching it in her mouth. Lykon ducked down and stole it from the air. Nile rolled her eyes, “It’s just dancing for people that can’t dance.”

“You mean French people?” Lykon asked with a smirk. Nile grinned.

“I can dance just fine you little shits!” Booker yelled from the next room over. They snorted and Lykon fell on to the couch in a fit a giggles beside her.

Nile shook her head, “You *really* can’t Book!” 

-.-.-

Naturally, Nile takes him out clubbing. They accomplish this by climbing out the second-story window of their current safehouse-apartment to escape Andy’s watchful eyes, and take Booker’s motorcycle - the one Copley gave him as a present for his birthday - to the local nightclub. 

Lykon kills it on the dance floor. Takes it by the throat and curb stomps it into the dust. 

Nile leans against the bar, sips her pina colda and watches him move in a way that should not be humanely possible. Is this man half cheetah? 

He might be. Well, whatever he is, he’s drawn quite a crowd. The entire club is focused solely on him. Nile doesn’t mind, she’s enjoying watching everyone lose their shit over him. 

The beat changes into something fast and rapid, and Lykon drops into the most impressive and eye catching breakdancing Nile has ever, ever seen preformed in her life. She stands with her jaw on the floor as the crowd roars.

A girl beside Nile screams in appreciation. “Wow!” 

—-

“So, have fun?” Andy inquires caustically through the rolled down window of her current car. Lykon and Nile are drunk, leaning on each other, covered in glitter. Lykon is sans his shirt, and has about twenty phone numbers scrawled on his chest in lipstick. 

Both culprits giggle. “Do you know he can dance?!” Nile asks eagerly. Andy sighs and motions for them to get into the car. 

“Yeah, I know. There was this one time we were captured by a warlord and he -” 

-.-.-

Andy deposits them on the couch. Literally. She just, dumps them there. Nile wakes up with her legs pinned beneath Lykon’s chest and his drool on her feet.

In true sisterly fashion, she kicks up. They both end up falling on to the hardwood floor, but at least there is no longer a knee on her chest and she wipe her feet off on Lykon’s pants.

“Oh good, you’re both awake.” Quynh walks into the room with a smile that immediately has Nile on high alert. Immortality has its perks, and one of them is no hangover. At least for her.

“Why is that good?” Lykon groans as he rubs a hand in his eye. He yawns, stretches, and deposits glitter on the floor.

Nile stares at the glitter. Then looks to the couch in front of her. Quynh’s smile widens.

“Because now you can clean my *white* couch.”

Lykon stills and his mouth falls open. Nile winces, “Remind me to call Joe next time.”

-.-.-

Joe, as it turns out, is the best choice. After cleaning, re-cleaing, and polishing everything Quynh owned, they’d snuck out the next night to another club. Which turns out to be as wild, if not not more so, than the first time.

Inevitably, this leads to them sitting on the curb outside at three o’clock in the morning drunk as college frat boys after the Super Bowl. 

Joe pulls up five minutes after they’d called him (Andy had taken her sweet, sweet time) with blankets and a cooler of snacks in the back, and a bouncy pop song playing full blast on the radio. 

He drives them home by the scenic route, and they snack on sandwiches and flavored water and fall asleep on the way. 

——-

They wake up to arguing. “Really, Joe, you’re spoiling them.” that’s Andy. “You can’t reward this type of behavior!” 

“Really?” Nile can hear Joe grin. 

“Remember the time in Russia, Andy, when you got piss drunk and danced the Mamushka (Addams Family reference!) in front of the entire Russian court?” 

“It’s not called that!” Andy snaps back. “Besides I don’t remember that.” 

“Really?” God, she can feel the teasing from here. She wiggles her way out of the blanket and out from under Lykon, who is still dead to the world, and pops her head up. The sun is very much shining, so that means that -

“Hey guys!” she calls, “Did you leave us out in the car all night?!” 

-.-.-

The worst, by far, is Nicky.

“We were, uh, sort of expecting your to pick us up…in a car.” Nile scratches her head, brow furrowed as she looks at the cart. She’s not a hundred percent positive this isn’t an hallucination.

Note for the future, pick clubs with better ventilation.

“Do you see…” Nile looks at Lykon and waves her hand at the picture of Nicky, on an overly large tricycle, with a cart hooked to the back, “…whatever that is?”

“It is a mode of transportation,” Nicky shrugs and gestures to the cart, “You can either get it or…” he gestured towards the street, “…you may walk.”

They get in. Not just because Lykon is about three steps shy of collapsing from exhaustion and grinning like a lunatic as he mumbles about how good music has gotten.

“So…” Nicky begins innocently enough, looking over his shoulder at them. Lykon is curled up, head on Nile’s shoulder. His eyes dart down to Nile’s broken heel. “An eventful night was it?”

And that. That is when Nile’s remembers who’s idea it was to have Booker be Andy’s sobriety sponsor.

“You know, excessive consumption of an intoxicant can be a sign of-”

Nile tries to tune him out, of course, but it’s absolutely impossible. And it takes a long time to get anywhere on a tricycle. And he took the scenic route.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thread: https://raybyanothername.tumblr.com/post/627765659509604352/mega-ringsandthings-world-raybyanothername


	5. Family Therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Copley tries to help his new, dump Immortal family get some much needed help. It goes as well as one could expect...

Once Quynh gets him sober, Copley starts dropping hints. It takes a few months, but Booker finally catches on and goes to a grief support group with Copley.

This ended… awkwardly.

And then Copley does an enormous amount of researching and background checking to find the only therapist in the world with the credentials and the willingness *not* to write a research paper on Booker. It takes six months to convincd Booker to talk to them, but eventually… he cracks like a coconut and spills the milk.

The therapist immediately recognizes that Booker is 100% not the only immortal in need of therapy and asks Copley if they’d be up for some family therapy.

Copley procrastinates that for at least a month, because he’s still kinda on thin ice with the team and Booker isn’t even finished with his first decade of exile. When he tells Quynh about it though, well, she Likes challenges.

And Andy isn’t a big a challenge for Quynh as she is for literally everyone else.

And that is how Doctor Ivy Quinn (yes, I did name her after my fav DC couple) ends up with seven immortals and their hacker waiting in her living room when she wakes up one morning.

“When I suggest Family Therapy, I meant you should make an appointment.” Quinn drawls as she ties her robe closed around her body. She huffs and walks back into her kitchen to wait for her coffee. “I’m charging you double for this, Copley!”

Lykon leans over to Nile, whispers, “Bet you my spear one of the Moms asks her out before we’re done.”

“One or both?” Nile whispers back. Quynh grins. Andy rolls her eyes. And Copley begs whatever deity might exist in the world to save him from the coming headache. 

-.-.-

“Listen, it was an emergency!” Copley pleads with her. “These people have serious issues, you have no idea!” 

Dr. Quinn purses her lips and starts her coffee maker. She’s about to refuse him, when out of the corner of her eye she see’s Booker and Quynh having a slap-fight as Quynh attempts to adjust Booker’s cashmere scarf. 

“Fine.” she concedes. “It’s still double though.” 

“Whatever you want.” Copley promises, relived.   
—–   
The session has barely started, and none of this is turning out how Dr. Quinn expects it to. She has dealt with…interesting patients before, but these people are at a whole different level entirely. Plus, she’s discovering some very interesting things about Copley. 

It turns out his therapy wasn’t so much of a success after all. 

“Are you seriously telling me you were going to sell these people out to a shady pharmaceutical tycoon to make yourself feel better about your wife’s illness?” she asks incredulously.

“Ehhhh…” Copley begins, at a loss for words. 

“And now you’re in a committed relationship with the other person that was working with you to sell them out?

“Well…” 

“A person who so happens to be immortal, suicidal, and chronically depressed?”

“Um…”

“Tell me, exactly what made you think that was a good idea?” 

“Well, on the plus side, the sex is great!” Booker butts in cheerfully from where he’s lying supine on Dr. Quinn’s therapy couch. Both Copley and Dr. Quinn turn to look at him. 

Booker offers them a shit-eating grin, and Copley experiences a horrible moment of understanding. Booker primed and ready to make this the worst therapy session of anyone’s lives. 

-.-.-

“I told you this was a bad idea.” Andy sighed and looked up at the ceiling, arms crossed.

“Actually!” Lykon pipped in with a grin, “You said you needed alcohol for this.”

Andy lowered her eyes to stare at him, gaze flat.

“Pretty sure that’s the same thing,” Nile said, inching slowly towards the door.

Quynh was bearing down on Andy with a very prominent frown. Nobody likes it when moms fight…

“That doesn’t sound very healthy.” Lykon shook his head, lips pursing and lower lip jotting out in a pout. He ignored the hand signals from Copley.

“No…it doesn’t…” Quynh stopped directly in front of Andy, hands on her hips. Andy raised her chin. Quynh narrowed her eyes.

Nile very much wished she’d followed Joe and Nicky when they’d snuck off an hour ago.

“This is gonna be epic!” Lykon grinned widely, hands clasped together as he sat on the back of the couch. He looked over at Dr. Quinn, “Got any popcorn?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thread: https://raybyanothername.tumblr.com/post/627765871402729472/mega-ringsandthings-world-raybyanothername


	6. Writer Quynh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does Quynh keep herself in quality fabric and art supplies? Erotica.

On a whim she throws up one of her old journals - which may or may not describe out she and Andy met for the first time, amongst *other* parts of their relationship - on a self-publishing site like amazon or lulu. A few weeks later she gets this Massive Check in the mail that she takes to Copley.

“What do I do with this?” Quynh hands the envelop over, head tilted to the side and nose scrunched up. “This isn’t how currency worked last time I was on shore.”

Copley doesn’t know how to answer that because he’s too busy looking at all the zeros. He immediately pirates a copy of her book from the dark web to give to Booker, just so he can watch the man blanche when he realizes its his moms.

“Uh… I’ll set up an account for you.” Copley says instead. “And direct deposit.”

He’s fairly positive there are Laws about sending that much money through the mail.

And Quynh just keeps writing, sometimes they’re old journals and sometimes she plays with some characters. Either way, she becomes the Queen of Erotica without every realizing it.

Nile will eventually tell her when one of Quynh’s books shows up on her Goodread Recommendations. No one who reads it can look Andy in the eye for a month. 

-.-.-

“So, uh. The guys just called -” Booker begins, waving his phone for emphasis, “and well, they wanted to know if you could please…stop writing.” 

“Oh?” Quynh looks up, surprised, from where she’s opening another piece of fanmail with a wicked looking letter opener, “Why?”

“Uh, apparently everyone is too embarrassed to look at each other anymore. Nile went off and no has seen her for a week, and Andy has locked herself in a room with a Kindle full of your books. All missions are halted for the foreseeable future.” 

Quynh chuckles, setting down the letter and reaching her hand out for the phone. “Let me talk to Andromache.” she says, a grin spreading across her face. “I need some new material for my next book.” 

Booker swallows in fear. He’s already been scarred for the rest of his long life - thank you, Copley - and has no desire to be so scarred again. He practically tosses Quynh the phone and then runs off, before he can accidentally hear whatever it is that Quynh wants to “talk” to Andy about. 

-.-.-

“Did you enjoy page 134?” Quynh says by way of greeting when Andy answers.

Andy scoffs, “You watered it down for the masses, so no, not really.”

“Apparently there are rules about what can be included in published fiction,” Quynh chuckled, leaning back in her chair, “And my characters are not immortal like you were at the time.”

“You should write about that trip we took through the Sahara next.” Andy suggests with a sigh that sounds almost like a giggle.

Quynh nods to herself, finger twitching towards a pen, “An excellent suggestion.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thread (with significantly more posts included than I copied here): https://raybyanothername.tumblr.com/post/627839013344149504/mega-ringsandthings-world-raybyanothername


	7. Copley the Immortal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Copley gets shot by some CIA-related enemies and discovers he's an immortal. We had some thoughts.

Copley looks in the mirror, his finger fiddling with the bullet holes in his shirt. He sighs, “Fucking hell…”

He immediately books a flight to the Caribbean, where he is going to drown his sorrows about this discovery in pina coladas before he has to officially join Team Disaster.

“Well, now I know why Booker drinks.”

Layne Freeman, the other half of Team Competent, feels a disturbance in the force.

-.-.-

So when Booker and Quynh track him down in the Carribean, he’s halfway into the the Carribean’s liquor supply and making up plans to try and hide his new condition? And doing a terrible job of it?

“Uh…James-” Booker begins, approaching the man slowly. Copley, who is sprawled out on the beach, in a hat and shorts and nothing else, smiles up at him. “We need to talk about some things.” Booker continues. “We saw what happened at your house…”

“Oh, that.” Copley says dismissively, knocking back another glass. “It was just a burglar, nothing serious.” 

“We saw your body in the morgue.” Quynh interjects, deadpan. Copley grins at her, obviously drunk out of his mind. 

“The paramedics made a mistake, it happens to the best of us.” 

“And your clothes? with the bullet holes?” 

“Old clothes, from my CIA days.” 

Booker and Quynh share a look. Copley is in denial, deep, deep denial, that much is sure.

-.-.-

Lykon, who has never witnessed the birth of an immortal before, is absolutely enthralled by the story and is hanging off of Quynh’s text updates.

“Can we *please* go??” Lykon whined. Andy didn’t look up from her Axes R Us magazine.

“It will be chaotic enough without us,” Nicky pipped in from the kitchen, brow furrowing at his cookbook, “We don’t want to overwhelm Copley during this difficult time.”

Nile sat up in her chair, “He was *directly* involved in making mine transition absolutely batshit!” She stood hands on her hips. Lykon grinned.

“Awesome! I haven’t been on a plane yet!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thread: https://raybyanothername.tumblr.com/post/628095637656944640/mega-ringsandthings-world-raybyanothername


	8. Academic Eccentricites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> College Professor AU, but In Canon!

For Undercover Purposes, or simply to get him Out of His Hair, Copley sets Booker up as a college professor in…Oxford or something since Booker taught before. Booker will teach French history/language, specifically,

Booker at first doesn’t want to, but as time goes on he gets really into it, and he’s the best teacher the students have ever had, part of the reason they love him so much is because not as stuffy as the other professors, he once showed up half and hour late to a important presentation, wearing trackpants and and the french flag and nothing else, and sipping an iced coffee that’s more than half whiskey. He’s generally handwavy about the classes themselves, but some subjects he’s really, really intense about *cough* Napoleon *cough* (and he teaches them curse words and terms no one has used in hundreds of years) 

Copley always comes to pick Booker up at the campus after class for Security Purposes, and this starts rumors with the students, ooooh, their professor seems to have a high-priced businessman as a sugar daddy, which Booker does not find funny. 

Booker stays teaching there for longer than he means too, (and the college is actually getting more popular because of him so you aren’t going to be able to pry him out away from the faculty without a nasty fight, Copley learns that the hard way) and it sort of turns into a permanent arrangement. He’s still running missions though, so he tends excludes Indiana Jones type vibes. 

And being around the next generation actually restores some of his hope back, so it’s a win-win scenario for everyone. 

-.-.-

Once Copley realizes how easily Booker integrates into a college campus without a single sniff of suspicion he makes a plan to integrate the rest of the immortals into academia. Apparently the eccentricities of your average academics far surpasses that of your average 200-year-old Frenchman.

“I never knew professors were so…” Copley paused, eyes scrunching up as he struggled to find a word to describe the group of 50-year-olds who appeared to be mid-ritual sacrifice before a large statue.

“Every university has at least one cryptid,” Nile shrugged. She bit into an apple and remembered the stories she head about the various universities in Chicago, “I don’t know how a professor can like, exist, without teaching a class, but I know it’s possible.”

Joe chuckles, grin spreading across his face, “Anyone who spends time at a university knows they’re breeding grounds for odd behavior. You should have seen Timbuktu back in the day!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thread: https://raybyanothername.tumblr.com/post/628634410479206400/bopley-college-professor


	9. A Wedding Dress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quynh, the fashion designer, and how she gets her start.

Quynh meets a wealthy lady during an undercover mission, and the lady thinks she’s just another wealthy solicite, so they begin talking about clothes, and it comes up that the lady is going to remarry, and they start talking wedding dresses/what would look good/ what style, so on.

And Quynh gives her such good advice that the woman asks for her help choosing the gown! But all the gowns they see at the fancy shops are travestys in Quynh’s eyes, so she tells the woman to give her a week and makes her the most fabulous dress anyone has ever seen.

The woman is delighted, and seeing Quynh’s passion for fashion, pun intended, uses her connections to get Quynh a place in a high-end catwalk event in thanks, and the rest is history. 

Copley is having an aneurysm, Booker is just happy Quynh isn’t using him as a life-size Ken doll anymore, and the rest of the team finds out Quynh is still alive when Nile turns on the television one day and sees Quynh at the Met surrounded by beautiful models in equably beautiful gowns.

-.-.-

“I can’t go home.” Copley says as he shoves past Booker into his apartment with a duffel bag and a laptop. “If you don’t have outlets in this old building, I may murder you.”

Booker blinks at him, mouth agap. He was fairly positive his banished from Copley’s house for leaving his socks on the floor wasn’t up for another week. But here Copley was, grumbling to himself as he searched for the nonexistant outlets.

“Uh… Copley, dear…”

Copley’s head shot up and he pointed a finger directly in Booker’s face, “Don’t you start! I’ve had enough immortal charisma to last me a lifetime. I am Not in the mood.”

Ah. So this was Quynh’s fault. Well. That was a nice change of pace at least.

“Quynh?” Booker called out as he stepped through Copley’s door. A sudden thud drew him towarss the living room, which he discovered was swimming a sea of lace and pearl-colored fabric. “…Quynh?”

A dark head popped up from the coffee table, eyes wide and magnified by the glasses on her face. There were purple and yellow bruises beneath her eyes.

Booker took a step back, eyes darting down to the pearl fabric in Quynh’s hand. It was half covered in embroidered flowers. A needle was held in Quynh’s hand, sharp and possibly more dangerous than any weapon.

“I’ll just come back later.”

-.-.-

It’s a nice cool evening, Booker is sprawled out across the ratty couch with his head in Copley’s lap, the sounds of the man typing drifting right into his ears. 

“Someone should probably go check on her.” Booker says sleepily, and literally feels Copley tense up. 

“Not me.” Copley says after a moment of silence, and resumes typing. Booker understands his aversion, as would anyone who has ever has the experience of spending more than a five minutes with Quynh, but it still doesn’t keep him from worrying. 

Quynh has been in quite a state when he had left - well run out nearly screaming - she’d been mumbling in a fast and sharp torrent of ancient languages as she repeatedly stabbed the fabric, and generally had the air of a lunatic who’d escaped from some asylum. 

Now nearly a week later, Booker could not help but be…worried about her current state.

He eventually talks Copley into going back to check on her, by means of a lot of coaxing, both verbal and physical.

They arrive back to Copley’s house at night - Booker has the nasty feeling that they’ll wish they’d came in the morning before it’s all over - and are greeted by a solitary light shining from upstairs, from Quynh’s room. The house is eerily silent when they enter, and the floors and every flat surface is littered with fabric and scraps and various sewing detritus. All the lights appear to have been switched off except for the one.

The stairwell looms at them from the dark, beckoning. 

They look at each other, and then take each other’s hands and begin to ascend the stairs, wariness mounting with each step. Booker knocks when they reach Quynh’s room, and the door swings open silently, revealing the most beautiful dress they have every seen standing on a mannequin in the middle of the room.

“Wow.” They both gasp out. It’s so lovely, the way it’s silk shimmers just so, the way the beading swirls across the bodice, the opulent way the skirt is draped, it’s almost unearthly. 

A thin, raspy laugh from behind them make them both start badly. “Well, boys,” a familiar voice says, and they both turn to see Quynh, disheveled to an almost unrecognizable extent, still holding a needle in one hand and a spool of thread in the other, and grinning an unhinged smile, “Do you like it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thread: https://raybyanothername.tumblr.com/post/629102628275666944/mega-ringsandthings-world-raybyanothername


	10. Pets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quynh has pets. Copley has headaches.

“There is an octopus on my staircase.”

Copley does not preface this statement with any sort of greeting. He just stares, hard, at Quynh. She continues to eat her Cocoa Puffs with a serene smile.

“Let me rephrase,” Copley sighed, brow furrowing, “*Why* is there an octopus on my staircase?”

“His name is Charlie.” Quynh sniffed, nose in the air, “And he likes to go on walks.”

Copley opened his mouth, closed it.

Booker snickered. “Pretty sure that thing followed her from the ocean floor, Cop,” Booker leaned back in his chair, non-alcholic beer in hand, “Don’t even try.”

“His name is Charlie.” Quynh slapped the back of Booker’s head as she stood, huffing lightly. “Come along Andy!”

Both men froze, eyes flicking around the room in search of the other woman. Something slithered through Copley’s feet and he jumped.

*Meow*

The small calico darted away, dark eyes looking back at the two men like soulless pits.

“Doesn’t he look just like Andromache?” Quynh laughed as she left the room. The cat hissed at them before rushing after Quynh. The bell on his neck made no noise.

-.-.-

They slowly get used to the cat, and the others that Quynh seems to always be finding and bringing back with her, and that linger around the property now, but the octopus, well…it takes some time. 

It haunts the halls at night, creeping around with a particular sucking noise that never fails to raise Booker’s hackles, and more often then not it joins Quynh for breakfast at the table, intertwined with the back of a chair. Quynh chats with it, or rather at it - it’s an octopus, it can’t answer back despite all of Quynh’s efforts to make the contrary true - as if it were just another person. 

But besides being generally creepy and unorthodox, the octopus - Charlie - is surprisingly a well behaved pet. It has a camaraderie with Quynh, Booker can almost believe it did indeed follow her from the ocean, and he takes to it faster than Copley, he’s lived long enough that an octopus as a lapdog hardly fazes him anymore, but Copley has threatened on three separate occasions to make sushi out of Charlie. It may have something to do with Charlie’s proclivity for lying in wait in the bathroom just before Copley goes to shower. 

Not that he would actually kill the animal. Cut off a tentacle or two though? Maybe. 

Copley comes into the kitchen one morning, having already thoroughly checked the staircase and shower before he set foot in either, and is welcomed by the sight of Quynh standing at the counter, watching her morning tea steep with Charlie attached to her back, like a child being given a piggy-back ride. 

He sighs.

“Good morning.” he says, and steps around the counter, careful to avoid Charlie’s waving tentacle, and goes to refill Andy’s food bowl. Cats he understands, he loves cats. His grandmother had one, his parents had one. He had one as a kid. He loves Quynh’s fussy, scruffy little furball, despite it’s hostile nature.

But an octopus?

What even? 

How? 

Why? 

He may not have the answers to those questions, but one thing is certain, he needs to get a nice, normal, traditional pet into the house before he goes stark raving mad. 

-.-.-

Booker should have seen this coming. There was only so much abnormal behavior a human could take, and Copley had held out longer than most.

“You brought a *dog* into the house?!” Quynh shrieked, arms flying out, as she stood on the stairs. One of Charlie’s arms rose high in a nagging gesture from her back.

Copley rolled his eyes, “It’s *my* house and I wanted my own pet.” He’s standing, feet planted, in the hall, with a puppy between his legs.

Booker looks at the situation, looks at the door, and then turns right around to go back into the kitchen. He’s not allowed to drink and whatever was about to happen was definitely cause for some alcohol.

“Don’t blame me when Andy rips his throat out!”

Quynh’s voice echoes, as do her footsteps as she stomps up the stairs. Booker vaguely wonders which Andy she’s referring too. He’s *pretty sure* it’s the cat.

*meow* Andy slinks between his ankles and looks up at him with begging eyes. Booker sneaks him a treat because, dog or not, he wants his throat left intact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thread: https://raybyanothername.tumblr.com/post/629102628275666944/mega-ringsandthings-world-raybyanothername


	11. Pets, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I, Ray, discovered potoo owls are a thing and wanted Quynh to have one.

Today I learned about potoo owls and now I need them to be apart of Quynh’s Aviary! They’re just so darn cute!! And creepy…the yellow eyed owl will devour your soul Copley….she knows all!

-.-.-

I think Quynh would LOVE these little buggers. They are the right mix of adorable and hauntingly creepy, which essentially, is what Quynh is as well.

They also have a unique and unsettling howl as well, so Copley jumps up in the middle of the night thinking someone is being murdered, and no, it’s just Quynh’s owl shrieking.

Also, fun fact about Potoo owls, they are thought by some (and used in rituals) to have the power “bring chastity” and to “stop seduction” which is half the reason Quynh got one in the first place, to stop Booker and Copley from having sex when they were in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. 

-.-.-

Quynh’s owl probably has an unnatural interest in Copley. He likes Copley, follows him around, hooting happily.

Copley is very disturbed. XD

Not sure what the owl’s name should be. My niece is very unimpressed with my not naming Quynh’s octopus Hank, so maybe that should be the owl’s name?

-.-.-

Yes! And waits for him when he comes home, in essence the owl acts more like a dog than Copley’s actual dog does.

Copley is creeped tf out, but what can he do? He doesn’t want to upset the owl, and more importantly Quynh, so he has to go along with it. He’s gotten used to the octopus by now, so it keeps him on his toes.

I was thinking Quí which means “precious” in Vietnamese, but Hank works too.

-.-.-

Quí is perfect!!!

And 100% Copley Wants to hate the owl… but it’s so dang cute! …when it’s not watching him sleep.

Booker has probably just accepted that he lives in a zoo now. He keeps that ratty old apartment of his just so he can escape.

Until Quí follows him there and wakes the entire neighborhood. All he did was look at the whiskey bottle! Total narc…

Quynh gives him extra… *quickly googles what owls eat* … beetles for his nightly feeding.

Now, whenever Booker thinks about a drink Quí flies into his lap and just looks up at him like this. 

*insert photo of potoo owl with wide yellow eyes begging for food*

Copley keeps a supply of dried termites in a drawer of his desk for Quí. Supposedly as a reward. Not to spoil him.

-.-;-

I mean, it has a perch in Copley’s room, he put it there so Quí would stop sleeping on his headboard.

And Booker keeping his apartment? 100% what he does. He goes and crashes there on the weekends when Quynh is trying to teach Charlie to shoot her bow.

Plus Quí being Quynh’s enforcer is awesome. We love a bamf bird. Booker is NOT going to drink on his watch, be it by force or insanely cute eyes. Booker can never resist those eyes.

Copley ends up taking over Quí’s feeding, he buys assorted insects, crickets, mealworms, beetles, so on, and special seed, and makes little mixes for the owl, while Booker is off complaining that not even he gets fed this well, what even gives??

-.-.-

Yes~ I love all of this.

I feel like Quynh is sitting somewhere (a chaise lounge in her room that doubles as her throne) smirking as she pets Charlie as Copley and Booker slowly fall more and more in love with her animals.

She’s not acticely cackling, but she’s got that line of light on her eyes a la Morticia Addams so it’s implied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://raybyanothername.tumblr.com/post/629556797391454208/today-i-learned-about-potoo-owls-and-now-i-need


	12. Not So Meet Cute @ Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quynh runs into Andy for the first time shore-side, in the hospital.

Idea for a fic, Quynh has to pose as a nurse at a local hospital, and when she hurries over to start triage on her first patient, and who is her first patient? Andy, who bruised her hip during training with Nile and consequently was rushed to the hospital by a panicking Joe. 

So Quynh is standing there, holding a stethoscope and just staring at Andy, Andy is staring back at her, and the rest of the team is waving sheepishly from the waiting room.

Needless to say, they cause a scene that takes Copley years to cover up for. 

-.-.-

“Andromache…” Quynh finally speaks. Andy’s heart clinches at the sound of her name tumbling from Quynh’s lips. And then Quynh’s eyes narrowed and Andy gulped, “Why are you hurt?”

The security cameras caught Nicky and Joe carrying Nile out of the waiting room as the young woman pushed and shoved at their hands. Booker ducked out a window that wasn’t even suppose to open. The security cameras only caught his grotesque landing three floors down.

“Oh~” Lykon held a hand to his lips as he peering into the room. He glanced up at the camera in the corner and waved, “This is gonna be epic.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://raybyanothername.tumblr.com/post/630263684175953920/mega-ringsandthings-world-idea-for-a-fic-quynh


End file.
